Friday, July 24, 2009

I Heart Oregon (Part I)

This might be my favorite picture in all the world. More for what it represents than for what is actually captured. Those are Henry's chuggy little hands. Those green and blue stripes are his pajamas. He was bathed and bed-ready when Halley came in and asked if we wanted to go gather eggs from the hen house. How could we possibly say no?

The siren song of dirt was irresistible. The dogs barked, begging more rocks be hurled for their retrieval. The "binoclears" on top of the play house enticed him up for a peek. The trampoline coaxed a few bounces.

And finally, dirty and distracted, we lifted the peppery hen from her roost to reveal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 freshly laid eggs. Brown and warm. He carried them so gently in his otherwise clumsy hands. He chuckled heartily at his dirty feet. "Look, mom! My feet are almost as brown as my flip-flops!"

When the sun sunk below the silhouette of the distant mountains, we went inside for bath #2.